Kama Godek’s Philosophy: Healthy Horses Win Big

Wilmington, Ohio – Kama Godek continued her winning ways at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington Winter Classic III, adding a third grand prix victory to her total for November and December by taking home the trophy in the $30,000 Kentucky Performance Products Grand Prix aboard her own Lady Stakkata (Stakkato x Lady Levisto).

Godek’s philosophy is that management is more than half the battle when it comes to winning moments, like this one. “Management’s like 99 percent of it. Riding is just one percent of the success. What happens in the barn is huge, and I say that to everyone. Getting to the top—it’s really about playing your deck of cards and using all the assets that you can find,” she said.

“The successful people are the ones still in the barn, making sure the horses are iced and walked and bandaged if they need to be,” Godek continued. “The riding, that’s the easy part. There are a lot of people who can ride. There’s a lot of horses that are grand prix horses, and there are a lot of riders who ride better than me, but I think the management and keeping the horses happy and sound and healthy—that is the key, because you can own a grand prix horse, but if it’s not healthy, you’re not going to win.”

Photo by Winslow Photography

The Secret to Kama Godek’s Success

When it comes to keeping her horses healthy, Kama Godek trusts Kentucky Performance Products’ supplements, particularly Elevate® Vitamin E and Neigh-Lox® ADVANCED.

“When my horses are on the road, they’re not getting turned out as much when we’re at shows, so they pretty much live on vitamin E, Elevate® W.S., because it’s just really easy and palatable. So that is our go-to product,” she said. “Elevate is a preemptive thing that we use, but we’ve also used the Neigh-Lox® ADVANCED.”

Godek has been using Kentucky Performance Products’ supplements for several years and brings them with her as she travels across the country competing. “Elevate is a product that’s easy to administer, and like I said before, it’s very palatable. I just use it as a top dressing or add it to their feed, and we’ve never had any problems.”

Kama Godek’s Winning Streak

In the last two months and aboard three different horses, Godek has won the $30,000 Hagyard Grand Prix at WEC – Wilmington Midwest Indoors II, the $30,000 Grand Prix at WEC – Wilmington Winter Classic II, and now the $30,000 Kentucky Performance Products Grand Prix at WEC — Wilmington Winter Classic III. Returning first for the jump-off with her small but mighty 10-year-old Holsteiner mare, she set the pace in 37.692 seconds and ultimately proved unbeatable.

Photo by Winslow Photography

“Lady is such a good horse. She has such a big heart, and I’d say she’s one of the crowd favorites because she’s such an unexpected, smaller horse. She just goes to show everyone that if you have a big heart, you can do anything. She has no idea she’s small,” Godek laughed.

Having come from a non-equestrian family, Kama Godek expressed deep gratitude for the winning string of horses that have helped her achieve a childhood dream.

“I feel super fortunate,” she said. “I was the kid who dreamed of having just one horse to jump 1.40m. I grew up grooming, hacking horses, and braiding to make extra money. My dream was always to have one horse I could do something big with, so to have a group of horses—and some really up-and-coming ones—is something I’m really grateful for.”

Sam Pegg came closest to the leading time aboard his 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding, Casadimo (Cachas x Orissa S), claiming second place in 39.488 seconds. Emma Linton secured third with her 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Victory Rw Broekkant Z (Vigo D’arsouilles x Evolution), in 41.227 seconds.

For full results, see $30,000 Kentucky Performance Products Grand Prix Results.